


The piano

by Melime



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, Post-Canon, SGA Reverse Big Bang Challenge 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-16 04:58:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10564092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melime/pseuds/Melime
Summary: The last thing he needed was someone judging him for not being good enough again. He wasn’t a musician, an artist, he just enjoyed playing the occasional song.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Português brasileiro available: [O piano](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10564128) by [Melime GreenLeaf (Melime)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melime/pseuds/Melime%20GreenLeaf)
  * Inspired by [[Art] Composition](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10525251) by [Nonexistenz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nonexistenz/pseuds/Nonexistenz). 



> Written as part of the SGA Reverse Bang, inspired Nonexistenz's art.
> 
> Thank you to my beta Alfer, who helped me even though she doesn't even go here.

It seemed like forever before they were finally allowed to take Atlantis back to the Pegasus galaxy, but once permission was given, everything happened too fast. With only two days before they were scheduled to depart, Atlantis was receiving shipments around the clock to try to resupply it now that they could load the entire city without worrying too much about space, and half of the science staff had yet to confirm whether they would be returning with the city. Of course, now they didn’t have to worry too much about the repercussions of forgetting something, it wasn’t like first expedition, but there were items that couldn’t easily or justifiably be sent via the gate or one of the ships. Like Rodney’s ‘special delivery’.

He wouldn’t say that this was something that he always wanted to bring, in fact, he hadn’t thought about it in a while, but there’s something about nearly dying several times that really made him think about things. The piano wouldn’t pass through the gate and would take too much space in a ship for a non-essential item, so he had to get it in the city while they were still in San Francisco. And maybe that hadn’t exactly been approved, especially the use of the transporter beam technology to get it from his apartment to an empty room in Atlantis, but there were advantages to volunteering for the graveyard shift. Even if him volunteering caused some suspicions.

Rodney wanted to keep this particular hobby of his private, if he could. The last thing he needed was someone judging him for not being good enough again. He wasn’t a musician, an artist, he just enjoyed playing the occasional song. So it would be his little secret, after everything he did for this city, he deserved at least that, didn’t he?

\---

He should have known that no secret is kept in Atlantis for long, but Rodney actually thought his plan was clever enough for him not to get caught. He only went there to play for a couple hours, once or twice every week, and always made sure he wasn’t followed, and wasn’t needed somewhere else. So he was shocked when he was playing one night, and the door opened without warning.

Rodney immediately froze in place, looking at the intruder. Of course it had to be John, because the universe hated him.

“Uh, I’m just…” he stopped, unable to think of a good excuse. So he decided to switch to the offensive. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be…” ‘Say something, anything.’ “Signing reports?”

John raised an eyebrow. “No, not at this time of night. So I decided it was about time I came check the piano you smuggled in here.”

“That I what? I just found this here today, I was just checking it to make sure it wasn’t an Ancient device of some sort.” Rodney mentally kicked himself, even though this was John he was talking to, surely he could lie better than this?

“Can I tell you I saw you transporting it here or should I let you dig yourself further?”

If Rodney had anything at hand, he would have tossed it at John. “It wasn’t your shift, how did you see me?”

John shrugged. “You volunteered, I was curious.”

“So you decided to follow me?”

John didn’t answer. “Don’t let me stop you,” he said, gesturing at the piano.

Right, as if he was just going to keep playing with John there. He had the privilege of hearing John play the guitar, and whatever was that mysterious thing that Rodney was lacking to be an artist, John surely had it. “I was done, actually,” Rodney said, closing the lid.

John frowned, and went to sit by Rodney’s side. “No you weren’t, I could hear you through the door. Come on, don’t be shy now.”

“What are the odds of you dropping this?”

“Somewhere around zero,” John said in a playful tone.

Rodney sighed. “Fine, but you're not allowed to comment on anything.”

And thus a tradition was born.

\---

They kept the routine going for around a month. They would meet at that secluded room twice a week, alternating the actual days, and Rodney would play for a couple of hours, while John would listen and not make a single commentary, and then they wouldn’t talk about it. Of course it couldn’t last, because Rodney didn’t understand what was happening, and he couldn’t accept not understanding something.

“Fine, I give up,” Rodney said, stilling his fingers over the keys. “What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” John said uncomfortably, taken by surprise by the question.

“A, I don’t buy your sudden interest in classical music, and B, if you just wanted to hear music you could download better performances than mine.” Secretly, Rodney was terrified that this was some sort of elaborate prank, and that maybe at some point John would reveal that all along he could play much better than Rodney could, or something to that effect.

“Maybe I just like to hear you play,” John said without thinking.

And it wasn’t a big confession, it didn’t have to mean anything beyond these words, but it still made something click inside Rodney’s head.

“Oh,” Rodney said softly, still looking at the keys, and then lifted his eyes, looking at John. “Oooh.”

“Maybe I should-” John started, preparing to stand up, afraid that perhaps Rodney had read something in his words.

Then Rodney closed the distance between them, kissing John, just softly, just briefly, before moving away. It wasn’t something that he planned, just his body moving to test an hypothesis before his brain had a chance to catch up, but the bell couldn’t be unrung.

But before he could panic about his actions, John had pulled him close and was kissing him again. Rodney had never thought about doing this before, wouldn’t allow his mind to go there, but then, in a moment, it was as if all the loose gears came to place, and everything made sense.


End file.
